ZAGREB, Oct 4 (Hina) - A senior Serb Croat official has called on the Croatian government and police to show their willingness to take part in a world anti-terrorist coalition through activity on the local level, and the Interior
Ministry to "finally solve some cases of terrorist attacks on members of national minorities." Talking to reporters on Thursday, Milorad Pupovac of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) voiced concern about the escalating security situation in Vojnic, some 100 km south of Zagreb. Speaking of an incident there in which two persons sustained serious injuries in a landmine explosion, Pupovac said the device had been planted as the two persons had previously safely tended the land where the explosion occurred. The Serb Croat official also commented on a Nacional weekly article which, quoting Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, states the reasons behind Croatia's refusal to normali
ZAGREB, Oct 4 (Hina) - A senior Serb Croat official has called on the
Croatian government and police to show their willingness to take
part in a world anti-terrorist coalition through activity on the
local level, and the Interior Ministry to "finally solve some cases
of terrorist attacks on members of national minorities."
Talking to reporters on Thursday, Milorad Pupovac of the
Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) voiced concern about the
escalating security situation in Vojnic, some 100 km south of
Zagreb.
Speaking of an incident there in which two persons sustained
serious injuries in a landmine explosion, Pupovac said the device
had been planted as the two persons had previously safely tended the
land where the explosion occurred.
The Serb Croat official also commented on a Nacional weekly article
which, quoting Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, states the reasons
behind Croatia's refusal to normalise relations with Yugoslavia.
Pupovac maintains the Foreign Ministry's policy toward the
neighbour stalls the return of Serb Croat refugees to Croatia. He
said the Serb Croat community would hold this policy accountable
for stagnation in refugee returns, which he added began two years
ago in the absence of any active normalisation of Croatia-
Yugoslavia relations.
In Monday's issue, Nacional quotes Picula in listing issues the
solution of which is paramount for the normalisation of the two
countries' relations.
These include the bordering peninsula of Prevlaka, Yugoslavia's
failure to extradite to the Hague tribunal three officers
responsible for war crimes in eastern Croatia, the unknown fate of
1,500 Croats gone missing in the 1990s war, and the fact that
Momcilo Perisic, a general Croatia convicted of war crimes, sits in
Serbia's government.
The Foreign Ministry today distanced itself from the Nacional
article, emphasising that "Croatia's alleged refusal to normalise
relations with Yugoslavia would be in full contrast to the
priorities Croatia has stated, as well as confirmed, on many
occasions since January 3 (parliamentary elections)."
(hina) ha sb